Pod Password Vault

Last updated: 2026-07-17

What the vault is

The Password Vault is end-to-end encrypted shared credential storage for a pod — the right place for a pod's shared service logins, API keys, and admin accounts. End-to-end encrypted means encryption and decryption happen in your browser: the server only ever stores scrambled ciphertext. Nobody outside your pod — including SpiritDAO's operators and the database host — can read what's inside.

Turning it on (pod leaders)

1. Open your pod's Manage page → Modules tab.
2. Toggle on Password Vault.
3. A Passwords tab appears in the pod menu. Enabling the module automatically gives every pod role vault access, and leader roles vault management (add/edit/delete).

Unlocking the vault (every member, each session)

When you open the Passwords tab without an unlocked vault, you'll see a "Set up vault access" prompt.

1. Click Set up vault access.
2. Your wallet asks you to sign one message. This is free — it's a signature, not a transaction — and it's how your browser derives your personal encryption key.
3. Done. The key stays in your browser; it is never sent to the server.

Expect this prompt again each time you come back in a new browser session. Your key is held only for as long as the tab is open, and is deliberately dropped when you close it — so nothing is left behind on a shared or lost machine. Signing again re-derives the same key and your entries are all still there.

Using the vault (members)

• Entries are listed by label and tags — both searchable. (Labels and tags are the only unencrypted parts, so keep secrets out of them.)
• Click the eye icon to reveal a password, and the copy icon to copy it. The clipboard auto-clears after about 30 seconds.
• If an entry says "Pending grant", it exists but a manager hasn't shared it with your key yet. Nothing to do — a manager will grant it, and it becomes readable on refresh.

Managing entries (leaders / vault managers)

Add: click + Add password. Fields:

• Label (required, searchable — visible to the server, so no secrets here)
• Tags (optional, searchable)
• Visible to — check which pod roles can read this entry; manager roles are always included
• Login (optional, encrypted) — username / email / account ID
• Password (required, encrypted)
• Notes (optional, encrypted) — login URL, MFA recovery hints, etc.

The modal shows how many people will receive the entry, and warns if any of them haven't done first-time setup yet.

Edit: pencil icon. Delete: trash icon (confirmed, permanent).

Granting new members: when new members finish their vault setup, managers see a banner — "N member(s) waiting for vault access" — with a Grant all button. Click it; your browser re-shares the entries with their keys. (This has to be done by a manager's browser because the server can't decrypt anything.)

When someone loses access: if a member leaves the pod or loses vault permission, managers see a "Vault needs rotation" banner. Click Rotate now to re-encrypt everything so future changes are unreadable to them. Be aware: anything they already saw, they know — rotation protects the future, not the past. Rotate the actual passwords on the external services too if that matters.

The honest security summary

• Protected against: database theft, server compromise, anyone reading your pod's secrets in transit or at rest. The server never sees plaintext.
• Not protected against: malware on a member's own device, or a member who read a password before losing access. E2EE can't un-share knowledge.
• No recovery service. There's no "forgot passphrase" — access is your wallet signature. If your browser key is gone you just re-run setup and a manager re-grants you; nothing is lost as long as the pod's managers still have access.